


Winter Wishes

by PrinceNotSoCharming



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fairy Tale Style, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 21:34:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12308268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceNotSoCharming/pseuds/PrinceNotSoCharming
Summary: An ancient legend says that if you climb on the top of Mount Reina and shout your wish into the abyss stretching to Mount Verde, Queen Winter will make it come true.





	Winter Wishes

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this is (hopefully) going to be my first multi-chap fic, so it might be kinda sloppy, sorry for that. Also English isn't my first language. God knows I tried to check everything, but it's ten minutes to midnight here and I'm not sure if I made any good, so.. Please, be tolerant.  
> The story was loosely inspired by one of local folk-tales (if you know any of Grimm's original tales, you know they might get a bit dark)  
> Anyway, thank you for reading this and I hope you'll enjoy it :)

  It happened on one of the long nights.

  Everything was covered by deep, deep snow - you could bury a body in its depth, Shouichi realized with a small chuckle - and the full moon's light made the white masses glow silver. It was a breath-taking scene, really, reminding him of all the stories he knew so well. About the Winter Queen. The Monster of Hervor. The Fox Wizard. The Glade. All of these tales carved themselves into the inside of his skull and refused to leave, fueled by the constant snowfall and twisted curiosity.

  There was no smoke without a fire and he was desperate enough to try anything. Even this.

  The thick forest was slowly receding, letting more and more of the moonlight peek in. They were getting close.

  "Where the hell are we going?" Whined the kid few steps behind him, annoyance clear in its voice. "We’ve been walking for hours and my ass is freezing. Let's go back, four-eyes! I won’t tell anyone you still believe in kids’ tales, promi-"

  Even the mention of the possible outing made Shouichi spin around in fury. What was the dumb thing thinking?! He should consider himself lucky! Out of all the dirty, malnourished boys at the orphanage, Shouichi chose him to be the one to help him pave his way to a better life. The fact that he hadn't told the brat yet wasn't important.

  At first, the boy was ecstatic. The life in orphanage was a dull one. Everyone would leap on a chance to get out, only if for a night. Kids like Aomine, those who knew nothing else than barred windows and beds full of bugs, they will always love to sneak out, they will always love to explore. To breathe free. However, it seemed Aomine went through a sudden change of heart. The kid's eyes might be still hard, but he was shaking quite violently, his worn-out clothes doing only a little to keep him warm. He should've taken Susa's winter coat when the tall boy offered it, but that wouldn’t be him. He was too headstrong to admit the biting cold, too proud to admit he was in fact afraid.

  Shouichi did his best to put on a smile, preferably a warm one. "Come on, brat! It's close, you can already see it! Here, look! You see?!" He pointed, the boy's gaze following the direction of his index finger. Those blue eyes. Shouichi doubted he had ever seen this shade of blue outside of Aomine’s irises. He doubted he’ll ever see it again. “Let's go."

  The kid grumbled something under his breath, but he still followed him through the masses of white. 

  “Here we are!” Shouichi heard himself exclaim, voice tad too cheerful. He quickly composed himself and checked for any signs of realization, but the brat wasn’t paying him any attention anyway. Dumbness never came in more handy.

  The glade was perfectly circular, exactly dozen steps long and lit by the moonlight like some kind of a holy altar. In its center was now standing Aomine, bathing in the pale light, wide-eyed and with mouth hanging open. “Holly molly, four-eyes,” he rasped, voice shattering the religious silence, “this is pretty creepy.”

  Shouichi would give him that. The place literally reeked of magic. "That's precisely why we’re here.” He paused, took a deep breath - the crisp air made him feel as if he were breathing in nails or perhaps it was a guilt starting to eat away on him, given what was he about to do - and recited: “It's said that the Queen of Winter comes here to bathe in the starlight.”

  The bluenette gasped - "You think we gonna see her?" - his lips making a perfect little O.

  He made that story up especially for Aomine. The brat had been all too interested in naked human bodies lately. Not only girls, though - there was that one time Susa complained that Aomine had been staring at him in the showers, then refusing to explain when he was asked. The whole thing escalated in a fight and the two boys would surely hurt themselves if one of the governesses, Miss Araki, hadn’t burst in and dragged them out of the showers by their ears.

  Whatever. Shouich wasn’t here to figure Aomine out. Once he was done, no one would really need to.

  There was a good reason why he chose this exact kid out of them all - beside the obvious things like dumbness and so on. Aomine was dark. His skin was tanned even in the coldest of winters and his eyes had that strange shade he couldn't quite place. Shouichi’s personal theory was that he were in fact a gypsy child, tossed away by his poor parents on their short stay in their town before they headed back down south, towards the sea where they surely conceived this strange, blue-eyed boy all those months ago. The thing was, all of this made Aomine different. Pretty in his own, unbecoming way, but still different. People in the mountains didn't fancy diversity. Another thing was his reputation - if he vanished, the governesses will simply think he tried to run away again, this time successfully. They won’t bother with search, actually, they might be even glad to have one less mouth to feed.

  “You really think she’ll come?”

  "Maybe, if you stop being so loud."

  Actually, the noise didn’t matter. They were alone, he was sure of that. Most of the townsfolk didn't dare to wander close to the Spirits’ Glade, not in the dead of night and most certainly not under the full moon. They were too superstitious, aware of the tale of the Glade. Unlike Aomine, they had heard of the spirits of the mountain roots that came to dance around the glade when the moon was full. If interrupted, the spirits will drag you under the mountain roots, never to be seen again. However, if presented with a gift, they will repay you in kind! The bigger the gift, the greater the reward and see, Shouichi was about to ask for a great thing. There wasn't a bigger gift than a human life.

  He tossed a thin blanket onto the snow - he saw Araki sun bathing on it in the summer heats - and urged the younger boy to sit down.

  Aomine only frowned. "You know what? This is dumb. We should go back."

  "No, believe me, we shouldn’t. Only if.." The brat was just too easy. “Only if you’re afraid. Are you afraid, Aomine-chan?”

  It was like pouring oil into a fire. The bluenette straightened and firmly shook his head. "I'm not! Move your ass!"

  The snow crunched underneath their combined weight and they found themselves sinking into the soft coldness. Their thighs brushed as they did so, ever so slightly. Even a blind person would notice how still Aomine went, as if he were an ice statue instead of a boy. The reaction surprised Shouichi. What was that just now? Were the rumors true? He had to admit he didn’t believe Susa when he fumed about the shower incident, but seeing it with his own two eyes was different.

  He made a great show of brushing their hands as well, looking closely for any kind of reaction. As expected, Aomine’s skin was smooth and soft and just as cold as the snow that was surrounding them.

  Those strange blue eyes, a mixture of lightning and starless sky, they shot up to meet his unwavering gaze, now comically wide. At the moment, the brat reminded Shouichi of a surprised cat and not only because of the shape of his eyes. In his own way, Aomine really was like a cat - stuck-up and painfully naïve, unaware that someone was about to slam the doors shut right when it was walking through.

  His hand fell between the kid’s shoulder blades. Shouichi could only imagine how heavy it must’ve felt for the bluenette, but then again, Aomine felt none of the creeping guilt, none of the doubts.

  The frequent touches startled Aomine greatly. “What the fuck?!” He shouted, scrambling onto his feet with such a speed Shouichi had a hard time even seeing him, more so stopping him. “The fuck was that, four-eyes?! What’s your fucking deal?!”

  What was his deal, anyway? Shouichi wasn’t quite sure. He came here to make an offering to the spirits and ask them for a chance to gain his freedom, perhaps as an apprentice of a banker or a doctor, he hardly cared, the only thing he knew for sure was that he had to get out of the orphanage. He had to leave the hell-house. Aomine sure felt the same - there was no way he was happy living the way they did. They were the throw-away children. There was nothing great in store for them; neither outside the orphanage nor behind its walls. Without any kind of miracle, they were both going to end up working for few pennies in the silver mines until either their bodies or their lungs finally gave out.

  He was basically saving the brat, too.

  “Sit down.”

  “No!” The bluenette sputtered, fists clenched and nostrils flared. “No! I had enough of this bullshit, I’m going back! You can sit there all you want, weirdo.”

  The snow crunched under his feet as he turned to leave.

  Shouichi spent months planning this exact night. Befriending Aomine wasn’t easy – it had cost him so much food his stomach still hurt at the memory and he had been beaten more than enough times trying to cover for the brat’s troubles. It was only fair that Aomine paid him back. He couldn’t just walk away now, could he?!

  No.

  It was too late.

  Wild ideas raced through his mind as the smaller boy disappeared further and further into the forest.

  No one was going to come to this glade. Almost none of the townsfolk wandered in the forest at nights. Chances of getting caught were non-existent. If Aomine started screaming, no one would hear him.

  The decision was made quickly.

  “Wait!” Gods know he shouted so loud that the mountains must have trembled, still, the brat chose to ignore him. He was cursing under his breath, too lost in his own thoughts to register when he leapt forward. Aomine gasped when a body slammed into his back, sending them both flying to the ground. One day, maybe three or four winters from now on, the brat would grow to be taller than him and that was a fact, Shouichi didn’t doubt that, but right now it was him who had all the advantages. Plus, his life depended on whether or not will this brat breathe at the end of the night.  

  At that moment, there were no doubts. Maybe he’d been hit on the head one too many times, whatever, in his head it all made perfect sense.

  In the end, he was just trying to stay alive.

  But so was Aomine. He struggled, kicked and screamed; even sank his teeth into Shouichi’s palm for few seconds, but one good blow to his temple made him see stars. That was it. There was no time to waste. Quickly, Shouichi gripped the boy's throat and pressed with all he had. He had to get out of the orphanage. Cartilages deformed under his weight, the windpipe collapsed. The sounds Aomine made then were all but human.

  He was just trying to save himself.

  It took decades for Aomine to stop struggling. Shouichi guessed that if the kid somehow survived his gentle treatment, the winter will surely finish him off. Or the animals. The mountains were infested with wolves. He wrapped the unmoving body into Araki’s blanket and dragged it into the center of the glade, then performed the respective rites.

  The sun was already starting to rise when he set on his way back to the town. His stride was light and brisk even with the terrible secret sitting on his shoulders and if that strange lightness wasn’t a sign of bright future, then he had no idea what was.

 

* * *

 

 

  An ancient legend says that if you climb on the top of Mount Reina and shout your wish into the abyss stretching to Mount Verde, Queen Winter will make it come true.

  It was a beautiful legend, yet also very deadly. Reina was the highest of the White Mountains; steep, dangerous and covered by snow and ice all year long. Only five people made it to the very top - one of them was a wizard which obviously didn't count - and only two - one of them was the wizard, again - made it back alive. Mother Winter did not like foolish wishes.

  Covered by a blanket of snow even in the most vicious summer heats, Reina was her solace, her castle, her throne. She often found herself sitting on the edge of the mountain's flat top, watching the tiny town being built in the valley near lake. Mother Winter hardly met any humans. Mountains didn’t favor them. They were too fragile, too breakable, so she eventually gave up all her hopes to meet these strange creatures.

  The tiny town grew and more and more people were coming to live there. Life was harsh, but they were harsher and soon many of them ventured into her forests and mountains. One of them, a young man with stormy grey eyes, climbed on the top of Reina. Mother Winter had never seen a human man from this close - he was tall and well-built and as charming as the sunrise. She decided to keep him, so he could teach her about the nature of his race, however, her frozen palace was no place for a warm human soul. The man soon wished to return to his wife and child. Mother Winter knew about the concept of human love and even though not understanding it completely, she sat the man down onto the softest breeze and it carried him where his heart desired.

  As the legend of her dwelling started to spread, more and more foolish humans tried their luck against Reina. Some of them died by fall, some of them froze. Not even once did she try to save them.

  Time passed. Human homes changed from wooden to stone and from stone to bricks. Mother Winter watched over the mountains from the flat top of Reina and when she was sure the stars couldn't see her, she flew down to the town and peeked into their homes. What a strange kind were they! Warm, always mingling and talking and touching - their affectionate nature made her realize how empty her own life was. Only if she had a kindred soul like them, someone to care for. A small snowflake would be enough! Soon, she turned her human-watching into a steady habit. She ignored every warning the stars gave her and ventured into the town almost every other night until something terrible happened.

  A child.

  Broken and cold, wrapped in sketchy, soaked blanket.

  As she knelt in the knee-high snow, shaken by the cruelty of men, something in her melted a little. Perhaps somewhere in the depth of her frozen chest, even the Winter itself hid a warm heart. Mother Winter cradled the little body in her arms and wept for the first time in her long, long life. Tears fell onto the child's face, sliding down his already bluish skin and just so, the strangest thing - perhaps a miracle - happened.

  The little snowflake opened its eyes.

  Two moons did she tend to the broken boy, using magic unseen to the human-kind and herbs that grew hidden underneath the roots of her mountains, but not even the great Mother Winter could trick Death completely. The child wasn't human anymore. It was cold, its heart just as frozen as hers, but for each other they were perfect. The icy palace was suddenly such a happy place when she had her precious son! Mother Winter had never been so happy. She spent every free minute with her snowflake, finally acting like the mother she called herself.

  Seven winters had passed like nothing and her boy grew into a strong lad. He became as fierce as a raging blizzard and as beautiful as Yule morning, bewitching the hearts of many spirits. The crude northern wind would change into refreshing breeze for him, the snow would stop falling and the frost wouldn't bite his skin even if he chose to sleep in it for days. Mother Winter had never been prouder.

  There was only one thing that troubled her - the lad had a strange longing for the company of humans.

  Mother Winter did everything in her power to keep them as far as possible. Her son might not remember, but she did – she knew very well that he died by human hand – so whenever a traveler dared to venture too far into the mountains, she’d make them loose their footing or throw icicles at their heads. She would rather bury the whole valley under avalanche than witnessing her snowflake suffering again.

  Still, she couldn’t keep the boy from wandering.

 

* * *

 

  Love.

  Love is such a magical word. It turns your world upside down and then spins you around and ‘round and ‘round until you lose your head. You can't dodge it. Eventually, at some point in your life, love will find you and you will feel like spinning and laughing and crying at the same time just thinking about that special person. At least that’s what mom told him.

  Momoi really was beautiful. She was like a princess, an expensive gem in the box of coal, a fragile work of art. Her eyes shone with the brightest kind of happiness every time she even glanced at him.

  Everyone could see she was in love with him, it was so obvious.

  The problem was Taiga didn't really feel the same. It troubled him deeply, mostly because he didn't want to hurt such a noble girl. Why did someone like Momoi want him? He was nothing like her - not so clever, not so well-mannered, not rich, anything! He was harsh and loud and spoke before he thought. The only thing he had actually done was catching an idiot who stole her purse on the market. And returning the said purse, after which he was invited to her mansion for a tea. He was clumsy and broke one of these tiny expensive cups, but she didn't scream, no. She just smiled and poured him another one; and so happened that a noble lady fell in love with a blacksmith peasant.

  Things went quite quickly after that and soon, they were engaged. A reception was held. Many rich and important people arrived and brought many strange and expensive gifts - among them was one Midorima Shintaro, a young noble close to the king and Momoi's long-time admirer. He was glaring daggers at Taiga the whole evening. Of course Taiga didn't let it slide! He started bickering with the arrogant prick and got so carried away that he didn't noticed when Momoi went missing.

  One of her servants found her lying on the floor of her chamber, unconscious. No one knew what happened to the young lady. Doctors were called, but they all proclaimed she was perfectly healthy; she seemed to be just sleeping.

  The problem was that no one could wake her.

  Taiga spent that night glued to her bed, thinking. He might not love Momoi as a woman or as a future wife, but he still cared for her. There had to be something he could do to help her.

  He was just falling asleep when the strangest thing happened.

  A white fox - real deal white fox with ears and tail and all - jumped onto Momoi's bed and said, in deep male voice, that the girl was cursed. It claimed that she fell asleep after touching a golden comb which had been cursed. Taiga couldn't believe his own eyes. A talking fox? He surely drank more wine than he could handle! He chased the animal away and tried to pick up the remnants of his sanity, but the fox kept on coming back.

  The little demon demanded that he, Kagami Taiga, the future husband and right now also a knight in shining armor, traveled far north to the White Mountains. "And there, at the place where the sky kisses the ground, you will find the one who'll be able to help the poor girl. A wizard who'll be able to broke the curse."

  Magical talking foxes don't lie, do they? Taiga didn't think so. He was going to save Momoi and if he had to talk to a whole barn full of animals, he'd do it. He might even get used to it, so he won't freak out again - the memory of him screaming and the fox screaming at him not to scream made his cheeks flush a bit. It was followed by a very serious conversation after which the beast demanded to be fed and he started packing for what was supposed to be the journey of his lifetime.

  So, that's basically how he got there. Kagami Taiga had never been the one to back away. Not even if it meant climbing into fucking mountains or walking around with cursed combs.

  It took him thirty days to get here. Edo with its warm, sunlit streets changed to fields and ponds and meadows. He could see Momoi’s face every time he laid himself to sleep. She'd been so kind to him. She'd be the best wife he could have. Mom would love her. She was perfect in every single way, so why couldn't he bring himself to love her like he should? That evening, he was more interested in the way Midorima's thin mouth twisted in anger than in the way her eyes shone when they danced.

  As it turned out, this crazy journey was at least partially useful. When the flatlands changed into cold, windy hills and snow began to fall, Taiga was almost at peace with the fact that he'd prefer a male body next to him. He guessed he'd always known, somehow, but facing it and actually admitting it, even if it was only to himself, that was something different. Father would be so disappointed - he was looking forward to having grandchildren soon - and Momoi’s parents would surely be bewildered. His heart was hurting almost as much as his feet the first time he saw the mountaintops rising on the evening horizon. Still, he laughed like an idiot for the better part of the night.

  The end of his little journey was close.

  The highest of these mountains was called Reina, the Queen. The place where the ground kisses the sky was on its top - that was exactly where Taiga should find the legendary wizard and also the only man who could possibly help Momoi. The memory of her still face urged him forward. Taiga knew she was alive, he knew there was a way to wake her up and he knew this wizard guy knew how to do it. The talking fox said so.

  Most days he slept on the ground. He had some money, but he chose to put them aside so he could find a nice place to sleep when he made it to the mountainside. The fox told him about a small town, a gateway into the real mountains, which was hidden behind a thick forest and guarded by a lake. Taiga wanted to stay here for a while. After all, he needed to rest. He had to be fresh to climb a mountain, otherwise he might actually die and what good would he be to Momoi then?

  Sleeping in the snow was a pain in the ass. When he stepped into the forest that morning, Taiga did so with the thought that he'd be sleeping in a warm bed at the end of the day. The town must be close, he was sure of that, but he walked all day and the forest just went on and on. With a heavy heart, he realized he was lost. Great. He had been walking for the better part of the night, still hoping to somehow find his way out when suddenly, like a thunder from a clear sky, the trees opened in front of him and revealed a small, circular glade. It was just big enough for him to make a fire.

  "Better than nothing," Taiga hummed as he started settling himself down for another freezing night. Hopefully, the last.

 

* * *

 

  The sky was painted in the darkest shade of blue, dotted by thousands and thousands of stars shining down at the vast valley. This night was one of the coldest nights he had seen. A freezing wind was blowing from the north, wheezing and whistling between the jagged teeth of the mountains, tugging at his coat and blowing the hair from his forehead. Mother Winter was raging. A small blizzard would usually calm her down - complete with annoying wind and snowflakes slapping everyone in the face - but tonight was different. There was no snow, no clouds. Only cold.

  Now make no mistake, the cold could be as sharp and deadly as any blade.

  Going for a walk was naturally a good decision. Daiki didn't mind the weather. Cold couldn't harm him anymore and it was far better than sitting on the top of the mountain and avoiding Mother's wrath. Not that she'd aim it at him, no, she would never do that, but she might feel like talking about her emotions and that scared him to no end. Daiki would take on blizzards, packs of wolves and every single bear in thousand miles radius, but when it came to feelings, well, he chose to retreat. 

  He didn't know the cause of her sudden rage spike, but he suspected it had something to do with the crazy guy living next mountain. They argued quite often, mostly over the humans she killed. Daiki wasn't sure whose side to pick. Humans were weak. When hungry, they'd take their children to the mountains and leave them be, to freeze to death or be killed by wolves. They killed each other, showed each other down the cliffs because of riches and moved their elders to cabins in the forest like some kind of trash. They were despicable, Mother had taught him so, yet he still found himself oddly drawn to these weaklings.

  What he didn't expect was that he'll actually see one tonight.

  He spotted the fire first. Flickers of orange and yellow caught his attention immediately as they contrasted with their pale surroundings, making him come to halt in his quick-paced stride. He squinted his eyes and tried to make out the human's looks, but the only thing he could see was a dark heap of furs. He had never seen a human from this close. They avoided mountains most of the time, afraid of the wild animals as well as Mother’s wrath. It didn't have to be a human, a nagging voice in the back of his head warned him, it might be a witch or something worse. There were still things in the mountains that even he couldn't take on and he could basically smell the curse hanging over the being's head.

  Mother could see him, he was sure of that. Still, his curiosity got the best of him and soon Daiki found himself slowly creeping through the trees, commanding the snow not to make a sound until he was standing mere few feet from the fire, just outside the being’s shadow.  

 

 

 

 


End file.
